Senate committee critical of ATO on unpaid SG

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has been sent a clear message to pick up its act on dealing with the non-payment of the superannuation guarantee (SG).

The final report of the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into SG non-payment has not only pointed to shortcomings in the ATO’s approach but has recommended that, in future, SG contributions be paid and reported monthly to align with payroll cycles.

In doing so, the ISA pointed out that amongst the key recommendations was the public provision of accurate, reliable data on the extent of unpaid super – “something the ATO was unable to produce during the inquiry”.

“Instead the committee was forced to rely on an ISA analysis of an ATO sample file that revealed 2.76 million Australian workers were underpaid their super by an average of $2,025 each, in 2013-14,” ISA public affairs director, Matt Linden said.

“Over the course of the inquiry we’ve heard from decent, hardworking people who weren’t paid their superannuation, and were then fired for having the temerity to ask why,” Linden said. “The Senate committee and an interagency working group convened by the Minister have spent almost six months on this – Australians now expect to see action in next week’s budget.”

Author

Mike Taylor

Mike Taylor is Managing Editor of the financial services publications Money Management and Super Review. He has been a journalist for the past 41 years with a career spanning coverage of financial services, federal and state politics and industrial relations.